We’re looking forward.
We believe in a new way of doing things: In new ways of learning, problem-solving, and working together to transform the future of education. To do that, we focus on what matters most: the people impacted by our work.
From students and educators to our team members and partners, our goal is to empower everyone with buildings, brands, and environments that allow them thrive. And we achieve this by creating a world of abundance, where everyone has room to grow!
Our Team of Teams
Imagine an organization with no hierarchy, no titles, no silos. That’s the nature of how we operate. We’ve broken down the traditional corporate ladder and instead created a network of teams who work together toward specific goals. Through connection, self-management, and a shared purpose, our teams use their unique skills to quickly adapt, problem solve, and come up with creative solutions that provide the greatest impact for our clients.
We call this philosophy “Team of Teams.”
Our structure provides a linkage between teams: Everyone knows someone on another team so you can easily reach out to a friendly face for help, guidance, or the set of skills needed to achieve your shared goal.
We are always learning from each other, communicating constantly to share the skills, insights, and knowledge that bring our teams together and achieve our goals. This framework is integrated seamlessly into our operations with regular check-ins and meetings to ensure you have the resources to learn and grow as you see fit.
Our teams don’t function in silos, but rather as a system of moving parts. Every person has a purpose, applying their unique skills and perspectives to their teams to bring our shared vision to life. Whether it’s for a client project, our organization, or our community, we are all pulling in the same direction toward something even bigger.
Our teams are self-managed, empowering them to make decisions that best serve our clients, our company, and our people. This flexibility allows individuals and teams to perform at their best, without the rigidity of traditional corporate structures weighing them down.
What makes us unique
We have our own way of doing things, to help our teams achieve more: more for our clients, more for our projects, and more for each team member’s personal and professional growth.
We believe that connection is essential—it’s what makes our work more fun and meaningful! Whether we’re working in the same building or across the country, we foster a sense of community through regular in-person and remote check-ins that allow our people to connect, socialize, share ideas, and get to know each other on a personal and professional level, creating stronger and more supportive teams.
GMB is 100% employee owned! Operating as an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), shares are released each year to all eligible employees (with no financial output from employees). This means when GMB wins, we all win!
Our teams are empowered to work in the way that suits them best, which means following a non-linear workday that fits with your lifestyle and working where you feel the most inspired and productive. Regardless of schedule and location, we’re accountable for the outcomes of our roles to meet the needs of our clients and teams. We trust our employees to know what works for them, so we give them the freedom to do just that.
Every quarter, our team gathers remotely and in-person to discuss all things GMB: where we’ve been, where we’re going, and how we plan to get there. In addition to being a great opportunity to connect, it allows all our people to play an active role in shaping our vision and moving our company forward.
We believe in our teams’ expertise and ability to effectively manage their workloads. As teams and as individuals, our people are able to determine the most effective way to move projects forward to provide the best possible outcomes for our company and our clients.
As a remote-first company, we’ve developed both virtual and physical spaces for our teams to gather for a common purpose, to develop relationships, and learn by participation, observation, and listening. We call them Learning Hubs—genuinely welcoming places where people want to be and where they feel a sense of belonging.
Our commitment to growth
Learning, growing, and giving are core to our values and our “why” (we’re big fans of Simon Sinek). Naturally, this means we focus on training and information sharing every day. We’re committed to working together to help each other evolve in our skills, build our careers, and guide one another to success.
Mentoring
Our team members join us at all ages and stages of their careers. Due to the diversity of skill levels, we focus extensively on the transfer of knowledge between team members, investing in their education and professional development.
Onboarding
Our onboarding team helps new hires and interns get a strong start at GMB. Whether it’s integrating with the Team of Teams culture, meeting new team members, or just filling out benefits, we aim to set every team member up for success in their career at GMB and beyond.
Resource labs
Our resource labs play a key role in the learning and growth that happens at GMB. It’s an ongoing series of learning sessions about our business and culture, as well as fundamental topics that support our team’s roles and disciplines.
More GMBisms
Along with doing things our own way, we also speak our own language. Peruse some of our common terminology for all things GMB!
#fridayshoutout
Did someone on your team do something awesome? Give them a #fridayshoutout (which often extends to any day of the week)!
Good Morning, GMB
Each month we (virtually) gather for Good Morning, GMB to share exciting updates, big wins, and interesting facts about our teams.
Kudos
Kudos are a verbal pat on the back for doing something really, really well
Even Better If
Think of an opportunity for improvement? It would be even better if…
Pods
No, not a group of whales! Pods are a group of GMB teammates who meet daily to chat about our day, work, and life.
20/20
Because hindsight is 20/20, we’ll look back on completed projects to review what went well, what we can improve, and resources we can share with our teams.
DORP
DORP is our friendly, neighborhood intranet site, named after our founder (Gordon M. Buitendorp) and where we share shout-outs, resources, guides, and more.
Community Day
Every year, we dedicate a half day as a company to volunteering and giving back to the communities where we live and work—which can include anything from outdoor yardwork and maintenance to donation sorting to park clean up and more.
